Victoria Means Business: Why WNBA All-Star Weekend Is Bigger Than Basketball

Um, I mentioned one other thing really quick, cause I think it's CBA, uh, related and really interesting.

I did get invited to, um, uh, like a THC cannabis discussion green room.

It was called the green room.

Um.

And there were people who worked in legislation, who worked in science with THC and cannabis that spoke on a panel.

And there was also, I am not in that industry at all.

It's not something that I partake in normally, but I was really interested to see what the transaction and the transition was with the CBA agreement being different with no drug testing for CBD and THC now.

Yeah.

So I went, there was a group of amazing vendors there that again, also had nothing to do with sports up to this point.

So it was another like integration of a new industry, cool.

But the CBA agreement, what I understand is that players are now, they are not getting drug tested for marijuana products, or I don't even know how we would say it, marijuana products, THC, whatever, in any form.

And they're also allowed to be a sponsor of a brand and have like a, I think it's called like a ghost ownership.

Like they're not allowed to participate in a board sitting or voting or anything that would happen, but they're allowed to have maybe stake in a business.

Again, don't take my word for it, but that's what I understood.

The difference is, and the thing that's tricky, is that players are playing in different states with different laws around marijuana.

So while the WNBA is making it much easier for them, and we had the Brittany Griner situation of it all.

like i'm insane and now all of a sudden this thing is not federally legal but it's going statewide and we also know now like it's not just like a it's not like just like having a drink like people are using this for recovery these are athletes that are giving their bodies to to the w um and to their entire it's their career like if they need something for recovery and this is something that works for them um under medical profession and suggestion like cool but Again, if they're in, I think Florida, it's not legal still.

If we were to have a new expansion team in Florida, somebody who had ownership or a brand partnership with a marijuana company or a THC or anything like that would have a different experience than somebody who's in Illinois where they have this giant market.

And it's like the Chicago Sky player today could be like, yeah, I'm going to invest in a dispensary down the street.

And then they get traded tomorrow.

And all of a sudden, they have to really think about their business proposition and what they can do and breaking contracts.

It's almost, in my mind, how their player housing works a little bit.

Like, yeah, here, we're going to put you guys up because you know that if you get traded tomorrow, you're stuck into a year lease.

And that's why they have those provisions and those contracts.

So, yeah.